Is It Right To Opt For A Home Care Service For Elderly Loved Ones?

It is not easy to see the health of your loved ones decline after every passing year. Yet, aging is an unavoidable phenomenon. According to the Population Reference Bureau, by 2060, over 100 million Americans will pass the age of 65. Generally, the elderly require much more care than the average person. The National Council on Aging discovered that 75 percent of the elderly have at least one chronic condition. And CDC reports that in 2016 alone, 25 percent of 65+ year-old Americans fell down, causing severe injuries, and in some cases, death. With such alarming statistics, as a guardian, it is your responsibility to provide the elderly in your family with the best care possible. Considering how much of us live a busy and fast-paced life, this leads to a problem. While an old age home might seem like the only suitable route for the working class with elderly parents, a home care service is a much better option. Home care services refer to any and all professional support services that allows individuals to safely reside in their homes. Such professional staff help people in need of assistance to manage their health issues or effectively recover from medical setbacks. Among other types of care options, here is why it is right for you to opt for a home care service for your elderly.

1. Independent living for the elderly

Despite that the fact that you are aging and are surrounded by ailments, most people like to keep their independence and hence dignity intact. Compared to hospitalization or admission in a facility, home care service gives the elderly the chance to live their lives normally and at their own will.

2. Presence of caregivers at all times

Does your job often require traveling? Maybe, you are not based in the same state as your aging parents? Let’s say you live in the California state while your parents reside in New York. At such a time, paid caregivers in New York state can be there for your parents. They can assess the safety risks in the house and make corrections if need be. This includes simple things like placing rugs on floors or assisting when the concerned individual feels under the weather.

3. Provide day to day help

To ensure that adults are able to live life normally, home care services help support all activities of daily living. Whether it be personal care, grooming, bathing, or medication, a professional is there to help them with it all so that they could go about their day as normally as possible.  

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4. Professional care at home

One of the biggest concerns people with aging parents have is uncertainty. At one moment, your parents might feel fine, and the next, they might need medical assistance. While you might not be equipped to handle such scenarios, professional nurses, as provided in-home care services are. This ensures that your loved ones get the right medical care at the right time.

5. Nutrition and diet support

Individuals with chronic conditions or ones who have recently recovered and have been discharged from a nursing facility or hospital require proper nutrition and diet. Aging and illness can lead to a loss in body mass. Quality home care services provide nutritional counseling and food preparation based on individual needs and conditions.

6. Effective medication management

The more prescription one has, the more confusing it can get. In the case of antibiotics, it is essential to take medicine at the right time. Home care professionals help their patients in managing their medications properly. They ensure that the right medication is taken at the designated time.

7. Providing the much-required caring companionship

Often, admitting your elderly parents to old age homes can lead to splitting up of the family. Sometimes the best facility is out of town. At times, one spouse might be left behind. This can lead to your loved ones to feel out of place. Rather than isolating your loved ones, it is much better to opt for home care services for your elderly. Even when at home, one of the hardest things for the elderly is passing the time. Life tends to get quite lonely and boring when you step out of the usual routine of going to work since you might be busy for giving your parents and loved ones the required attention, health care professionals aid in giving the much-required caring companionship to the elderly. This includes taking them on walks, talking to them, playing games or watching movies, etc. They also assist them with medical appointments and running errands.

8. Helping in light chores

While you cannot mistake home care professionals to be house carers, such individuals do provide help with light household chores. Since aging adults tend to struggle with daily tasks like doing the dishes and laundry, home carers help them with it all.

9. Comparable outcomes to hospitalization

Compared to hospitalization or admission in hospitals, in-house care is just as effective in ensuring the health of the elderly. Chronic conditions like diabetes, pneumonia, and COPD can be effectively managed and cured with home care services. However, the quality of the service chosen also comes into play here. So, it is essential to pick appropriately.

10. Personalized care and devoted attention

In hospitals and aging homes, seldom are the elderly able to receive devoted attention and personalized care. However, in the case of home health care services, one-on-one care helps the patient is feeling much more satisfied. As per a Cleveland Clinical Journal research paper, patients find home care professionals to be more trustworthy.

Ending Remarks

While other ways of providing care to your elderly loved ones might have their own share of merits, opting for home care services allows you to stay close to your aging parents while ensuring their health. Both you and they get the best of both worlds. What else could one ask for? Take good care of your aging family members. Don’t make them feel dependent or a burden. Treat them well, just like they did every time you needed them.